The heavens opened and dunked some serious rain onto us as we were rousing from our sleep.
"I'm sure the fish wouldn't mind getting wet from the rain" FG exclaimed with a matter of fact look. But thank God the weather did ease and we proceeded as planned to our rendezvous.
After FG's successive and productive trips with pictures of angry Toman smashing surface lures and stories of burst leaders & smothered egos, who could resist to tangle with the "freshwater Tigers" of Southeast Asia?
"Skitter Pops in Fire Tiger colour were the top producers in our last trip" FG exclaimed as he fit one onto his outfit.
Who was I to argue? I followed suit on my Majorcraft Sakura 10-16lb / Shimano Curado 200E5 loaded up with the new 20lb Sufix Fusion line (more details on that in subsequent posts! Great stuff comparable to Fireline!) outfit.
The morning air was crisp. Motoring quietly across the lake, we came upon the sight of familiar surface ripples.
"There", our guide pointed out to the swirl that was about 30m away.
FG graciously allowed me to cast first. The Fire Tiger Skitter Pop 9cm landed right on target about 1 foot near the ripples. Perfect.
It didn't survive the third chug when the water around it erupted! Line taught, rod bent!
Fish on!!!
Alas, the fight was shortlived. The fish dived into some submerged weeds and shook the lure free. The spanking new Fire Tiger came back with a large puncture hole on its balsa body. From the teeth marks, it did look like a solid fish (aren't the ones that get away always big?)
FG scored better with the subsequent Toman. Not big, but it sure gave an impressive surface strike that caused our hearts to almost jump out of our mouths! These guys are aggressive! They seemed to love the loud splashes from the Skitter Pop on a fast 'jerk, jerk, jerk' action. And the results of the day confirmed it. Aggressive strikes are an understatement!
Ron scores a nice one on his Jap surface lure
Freshwater Tiger meets Fire Tiger
This one fell for the new X-Walk 11cm
When it comes to Toman fishing, the most common method is to cast a diving lure or crankbait at a fish that has come up to the water surface to breathe. The ripples on the water surface are the tell tale sign of a fish that has just surfaced. Casting a deep diver at the spot will trigger the aggressive nature of the Toman to strike the 'intruding' object.
However, this technique may not be a universal technique especially at shallow spots where underwater weeds abound. Hence, poppers would work wonders as they cause the commotion on the water surface, triggering ferocious strikes. Not to mention, the visual effects are heart-stopping and purely unforgettable!
More pics to come..
Pic No. 1: I don't read palms and admit readily that I don't know anything, but that's looks like a "split" palm line across your left palm. Powerful, strong willed leader. Thanks for the pics :)
ReplyDeletePS: How do you get guides? Is there a contact that I can engage? Thanks!